Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Gaia Community Discussion
<3 </3
Reply
1 2 >

Fanatical Hoarder

Offline
ｓｎｉｐ, ｓｎｉｐ. . .
✄ So (backstory) i have recently returned to Gaia after being away for 5 years
In this time I have realised I am neurodivgergent
Ive been diagnosed as dyspraxic and i will soon be seeking an adult diagnosis for both autism and adhd

Alongside this there has been an increase in the use of tone tags/indicators in recent years
They are the same thing, the terms cam be used interchangeably
Personally I find these are really helpful in helping me interpret tone in someones message
I do not need these all the time but they do help prevent misinterpretation and make conversation much smoother
Tbh i often use them more to denote my own meaning to make sure im coming across correctly

You probably have seen them if you are a twitter user
And ive seen /s being used on reddit for years to denote sarcasm
Its simply putting the appropriate tag before or after the relevant sentence to ensure clarity

There is a relatively extensive list, however these are the most common ones that i've seen used or use myself
common tone tags
/j or /jk - joke
/srs - serious
/lh - light hearted
/hj - half joking
/pos - positive connotation
/hyp - hyperbole (exaggeration)
/gen - genuine

However i have noticed that not many people here use them.
I have seen... i think only one user using them
And thats only because i was actively searching for them

So... What do gaian's think of them?
Are you already familiar?
Do you use tone tags; here on gaia or elsewhere?
Do you think they would be useful to know?
Do you think gaia as a community could benefit from more awareness of tonetags?

Here are two carrds which explain the use of tone tag/indicators
If anyone is interested in learning more
toneindicators.carrd
tonetags.carrd


Edit:
This has some great discussion here! I love to see it :3
Even if i havent responded I have read o u o
I will be replying more when i have the energy (or spoons as the kids call it)

Offline
gaia_angelleft they've a very contemporary thing, and gaia is not a very contemporary website

i don't really see it catching on in gaia since it is focused on keeping a small and faithful circle of users, rather than other social medias that put focus on new user intake

i do agree that they can be very helpful though

Fanatical Hoarder

Offline
Fethawit
gaia_angelleft they've a very contemporary thing, and gaia is not a very contemporary website

i don't really see it catching on in gaia since it is focused on keeping a small and faithful circle of users, rather than other social medias that put focus on new user intake

i do agree that they can be very helpful though
ｓｎｉｐ, ｓｎｉｐ. . .
✄ thats a very good point actually
especially as most of the userbase is older users

That would mean more people would have to choose to adopt them into the speech
Rather than new users who already use them joining

There are so many times when i see people get offended (often in CB lol ) where i think that it could have been avoided if they had used tone tags

Sensation Seeker

17,550 Points
  • Runway Supermodel 1000
  • Perfect Attendance 400
Offline
𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠. 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍. 𝙰𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚐𝚞𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚖 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

Fanatical Hoarder

Offline
Laserblasted
𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠. 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍. 𝙰𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚐𝚞𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚖 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.
ｓｎｉｐ, ｓｎｉｐ. . .
✄ same here. Its discord that got me familiar with their use.

It definitely feels like detective work, sometimes, trying to figure out someone's tone is. I often have to look at others responses to indicate for me.

Shirtless Lunatic

14,650 Points
  • Cool Cat 500
  • Team Edward 100
  • Nudist Colony 200
Offline
So... What do gaian's think of them?
Are you already familiar?
I think I saw someone using /s on facebook years ago and it devolved into a discussion about what it means.

Personally I don't like them, at least from what I have seen from that instance as well as the list provided. The abbreviations are not very clear to someone who isn't familiar with them and they don't look right with other text, to me they look like code for something I'm unfamiliar with.

If someone's tone is unclear, I don't see how it helps to use tags that are equally unclear. It seems better to just write something like (I'm being sarcastic) if someone cares about how their tone is perceived.

Do you use tone tags; here on gaia or elsewhere?
No.

Do you think they would be useful to know?
For me? No. I would rather that someone write out exactly what they mean rather than resorting to what is more or less chat speak.

Do you think gaia as a community could benefit from more awareness of tonetags?
I can't speak for anyone else, but as someone with ADHD, I find them distracting. They are often enough not long enough to easily figure out what they mean with a search (unlike vocab I don't know, which will immediately come up with a result). It's so disruptive to me.

Example: "pos" makes me think it stands for "piece of s**t" sweatdrop but if context for that seems off and I look it up, I am going to have a hard time figuring out in a search that it really means "positive connotation." By that point I've wasted my time and will merely be annoyed with whomever couldn't be clear in what they wrote in the first place.


(Emojis also exist and usually make stuff far more clear than tone tags)

Regular

Offline
i haven't needed to use them because i think i just type what i want to say clearly, & if something is Positive or Hyperbole or Exaggeration i try to make that clear in my wording instead of leaving a little code for people to figure out. bc the alternative is taking a paranoid reading of someone's intent and assuming the worst bc they don't use a little tone tag, and i think that's a separate issue that tone tags can't fix alone

like i'm sure these are helpful for people who use them. but it feels very much like an in-group thing, & as someone not in the in-group it does not help or communicate anything further, since i don't know what all of them mean? i think it seems a little unwieldy as an accessibility tool for that reason

and gaia definitely skews older lately. like way older. i'm 30 myself lol, and i'm guessing most gaiains are around that age as well. i think some gaians don't really keep on top of too many recent things like tone tags

plus this is a forum, where people take their time typing things out before posting, and not discord where you have to be fast to get a word in edgewise. i can see tone tags helping in cases like that, but in a forum? i think in a forum you can just type things out better, usually

Tiny Shapeshifter

Offline
Back in early 2000s, when people were all about coding their perfect bio page (Myspace, Gaia Profiles, learning CSS coding). Using the back slash key " / " with "sarcasm" would be read out as "end sarcasm," because in computer language, that meant the sarcasm action/command ends at that line of coding.

This line of thinking appeared in other forms though, such as using "spoiler" to warn readers of upcoming content, like warning signs for driving cars. Prior the birth of internet even, theatres would have their own cues like "enter/exit left"

While I myself don't find it to be anything new, I wouldn't suggest people to heavily rely on it either. Improving ones skillset in writing is far more productive than it is to rely on modern slangs that comes and goes by generation.

Golden Egg

18,715 Points
  • The Sweetest 250
  • Falling For You 25
  • Luminary Melee Champion 200
Offline
Huh, is that what those are called ? sweatdrop

I 've seen them being use for years here on Gaia, maybe tumblr , and other sites .


I don't think that your diagnoses should have anything to do with whether people use them or not.

I always thought they were sort of : either writing style choice , or just a courtesy .


But now a days ( specially the way the internet is today ) , i think they should be part of everyone's " NET-Ethiquette " . question idea

People today ( and maybe since the start of TEXT communication ) BUT more so today ) seem to not get each other's meaning. Or , not attempt at trying to understand what the other person is trying to say. As if they were living some cliche anime plot or sitcom.

OR in some cases they go out of their was to misunderstand you . ( i don't know if that's because they seek drama , or they are trolling , or whatever ).

So people using " tone tags " to me seem like a good idea.

Lady Pants

71,675 Points
  • Attending the Ball 25
Offline
I have never used these, and equally, don't see me ever using them, especially on Gaia...where anything you say, even in jest, can and will ruffle someone's feathers.

I try to be clear, concise and direct, leaving out jokes or sarcasm as much as possible to not be misinterpreted by a passerby looking to fill a mod application quota. And if I am being comical or sarcastic, I state so bluntly and directly, but I do that less on Gaia than other places, since say the wrong thing, someone will report it...because their panties got in a bunch.

Online
i try and use smileys and s**t like that
to convey my tone and whatnot
but these are really cool
and ill think about incorporating them into my texts and stuff (^:

Dapper Duck

Offline
I don't use them, unless someone asks for them. My method of conversation is very simple and straightforward. I also think if someone uses them for me, it's a little demeaning just in my personal opinion (but I just have inferiority issues lol) This is also from someone who is diagnosed "divergent" in multiple accounts myself, but that's just me. I see the use for others, for sure. When I send longer, more nuanced messages, I still take the time to make my point clear. Or I just smoother in emojis. All-in-all they seem useful, but sometimes they're laid on way too thick. But I also don't care as much about when I get cues wrong, personally.

Expansionist's Significant Otter

Green Fairy

30,265 Points
  • Beta Citizen 0
  • Beta Contributor 0
  • Beta Gaian 0
Offline
I haven't felt the need to use them here on Gaia but then I've been mostly a lurker here since I joined up.
My humor is very dry and mostly sarcastic so I'll use "<sarcasm>" on Facebook occasionally in one specific group because we have members of all ages and many nationalities. If there was an emoji that worked for sarcasm I'd probably use it on FB instead.

I can't say that I like making it look like actual code though, I keep looking for the rest of the tag...

Adorable Bear

40,500 Points
  • Hand in the Cookie Jar 100
  • Simple Romantic 50
  • Knife Club Lifetime Membership 0
Offline
I like and use tone indicators in the instances when I'm not sure people will get that what I'm saying is a joke. I know it can seem like extra work, but it really isn't that hard to slap at the end. Once you get in the habit, it's not so bad.

And as someone who uses them often enough, there's still a lot I don't know! So start with a few. You don't have to have them all memorized.

I have been in spaces where a passing comment got turned into a whole 20+ minute discussion, and having used a tone indicator could have prevented it.

Misunderstanding each other happens. If it helps to make things a little less confusing for another, I do it.

Mega Gaian

Offline
Those things make sense in a format with limited space like Twitter, which literally counts your character use. But you can post full sentences and paragraphs on Gaia so it's much better to use more commonly understood, straightforward words. You can just add (I'm joking by the way) to a post and it takes maybe two seconds of effort. You can also use bold, underline, italic, and strikethrough text to put emphasis where you want it so tone is clearer.

There's also generally no problem with responding to someone, if their tone is unclear, with 'Is this a joke?' Forums invite back-and-forth conversation, as opposed to other social media where you're posting into the void or likely to get lost in a bunch of white noise chatter.

Also I don't understand why you'd end a post with '/pos' (piece of s**t? point of sale?) when you could just do <3
Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Gaia Community Discussion

Quick Reply

Submit
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
More
Get GCash
Offers
More
Get Items
More Items
More
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
  • Guilds
    fan clubs for the stuff you love
  • Chat
    chat in real time with other Gaian's
  • Art Arenas
    browse & rate gaian art galleries
  • Clans
    play zOMG with others
More
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff
More
Gaia's Games
Mini-Games
More
Play with GCash
Play with Platinum
More